British Touring Car Championship heads for Donington Park

The BTCC has always been famed for its exciting racing, but a shake-up in rules and driver line-ups over the winter months appears to closed things up even more, if the opening three races of the season are anything to go by.

THE British Touring Car Championship, returns to Leicestershire’s Donington Park circuit this weekend (April 18 and 19), with the season shaping up to be the most competitive in years!

The BTCC has always been famed for its exciting racing, but a shake-up in rules and driver line-ups over the winter months appears to closed things up even more, if the opening three races of the season are anything to go by.

Three different drivers took victories at the first round of the season at Brands Hatch, and each of them by less than half a second!

Championship veteran Rob Collard emerged as the first winner after fending off Aron Smith by four tenths of a second, but the second contest was even closer, as just 0.040 seconds, equivalent to an inch or two, separated Gordon Shedden and former World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx in one of the closest races ever seen in BTCC history.

With Matt Neal then winning the third race by 0.196s, the form books would suggest three epic BTCC races are in store this weekend!

The BTCC driver line-up is the strongest it has been for years too. The ambitious Team BMR secured the services of double champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington over the winter break in one of the talking points of the season. They were the quickest drivers in the official test, held at Donington on 24 March, and should be names to look out for in their new berths.

Their team mate, the aforementioned Smith is one of the new young stars of the championship, while other champions on the grid include Shedden and Neal (both driving a brand new Honda Civic Type-R), and Donington local Andrew Jordan, driving an MG, who lives in nearby Lichfield.

Youngsters have really come to the fore recently though, and other names to keep an eye on include Mercedes youngsters Adam Morgan and Aiden Moffatt, BMW ace Sam Tordoff, MG’s Jack Goff, who very nearly grabbed a first win at Brands Hatch and Toyota racer Tom Ingram.

Fans at Donington will miss none of the action with big screens around the venue, while they will also be able to get up close and personal to the stars of British motorsport with an open paddock policy and a pit walk on Sunday at 9.15am where drivers will be on hand to sign autographs.

Christopher Tate said: “The BTCC is rightly regarded as one of the most exciting spectacles in motorsport and always puts on a fabulous show at Donington Park.

“With more on track action provided by the excellent support series, it’s going to be fantastic.”